Taming What's Mine
by emeyers
Summary: Damon killed me; snapped my neck without a moment's hesitation. If it weren't for my father's ring that Uncle John passed onto me, I'd be dead—on a permanent basis. AU Daremy. Please R


**Disclaimer**: Nothing that you recognize belongs to me.

**Warning**: Slash, Nonrelated, Language

**Shout Out:** A huge thank you goes out to _Ghostwriter_; without you, girl, a lot of these stories wouldn't have been finished; you helped me so much with not only capturing Damon's character in his dialogue (definitely not an easy task), but you were also there to let me run my ideas by you and respond. Thank you so much!

**Taming What's Mine**

Damon killed me; snapped my neck without a moment's hesitation. If it weren't for my father's ring that Uncle John passed onto me, I'd be dead—on a permanent basis.

I should hate him, want him dead, but no matter how much the thought haunts me, I can't.

At first I did, obsessed with vengeance and hopeful of giving that older vampire what he deserved. However, the night I broke into his house and drugged his alcohol stash with vervain, intent on weakening him to the point where I could stake him, we came to an understanding due to the fact that both our fathers despised vampires and wanted them all destroyed. Afterwards, while we were nowhere near best buds, we were cordial and didn't mind each other's company.

About a month after my brush with death, I lay awake in bed while remembering Damon's devastated expression when Elena told him that although she cared for him, she loved and would always love only Stefan. I'd been next door in my bedroom and when their voices escalated, I intervened. While it was obvious Damon was drunk, when he alluded to how vampires could switch off their emotions, I realized just how deeply Elena had hurt him.

Ironically, Vicky treated me the same way.

Whenever Tyler wasn't around, she didn't mind messing around with me but when it came to pursuing an actual relationship, she wasn't interested. Even though the thought of pitying Damon sounded as appealing as sticking my head inside a tiger's mouth and asking it not to bite me, I couldn't help it.

No one deserves to be treated like that.

With that in mind, I came up with a possible solution: whenever, Damon wanted Elena but couldn't have her, he could come and use me as her replacement. Though it took two weeks for me to build up the courage to approach Damon, when I first proposed the arrangement to him, he shook his head, his distain apparent. However, not even a week later, after sitting through a long, awkward dinner of watching Stefan and Elena act all cute and cuddly, Damon cornered me in my room and accepted my offer.

Gripping my hair, I slump forward and groan as I bury my face in my hands. What the hell is wrong with me? After the stellar experiences with my last two vampire girlfriends, I should've known better but after almost six months of acting like Damon's sexual toy, ready to please him and at his complete disposal, here I am falling for him: the psychopathic vampire who lacked any redeeming qualities and was incapable of returning or feeling any sort of emotion.

Will you ever learn, Jeremy?

A loud, shrill ringing shatters the silence.

Momentarily disoriented, I glance up at the squeaking scrap of chairs as they're pushed back across the ground before remembering I'm in the Mystic Falls High cafeteria. Snippets of conversations echo around me as students collect their bags, dump their lunch trays, and file out for their next classes. Balling up my leftovers, I toss them into the nearest trashcan and join the throng of students. As I approach my locker, however, my feet veer off to the right, hurrying down the adjoining hallway towards the exit and carrying me towards the football stadium. Although I'm aware ditching school will piss Elena and Aunt Jenna off, I don't really care. Besides, I'm not in the mood to sit in a classroom like a good boy and take notes while my teacher drones on about mindless crap that occurred several years ago.

I can thank a certain vampire for that.

Climbing the bleacher steps, I settle down about halfway into a row, propping my feet on the lower metal bench and leaning back on my elbows; down below, the track team stretches and then warms up with a light jog around the track while the football players congregate on the grass to run drills and practice for their upcoming game.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Jeremy Gilbert is cutting class. Let me put on my surprised face."

I groan at the voice beside me. Does he have some psychic ability that lets him know when to annoy someone? "Shut up, Damon. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

"Well then," he asks, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows, "what are you in the mood for?"

"Obviously not you," I say glaring.

"Am I sensing some teenage angst?" I press my lips together; just because he's a 160 year-old vampire, that doesn't justify him treating me like a kid. "You're upset," he says, noticing my sour expression.

"Wow, great deduction skills there, Captain Obvious. Now go away."

When he doesn't listen, I groan; what part of that sentence didn't he understand?

"What's wrong?" Blinking, I shoot him a sidelong glance. Did Damon Salvatore, the king of no humanity, just offer me genuine concern? "Jeremy, I can't help you if you don't tell me the problem." I shake my head and rub my ears; am I hearing this? Since his arrival in Mystic Falls, he's never done anything without an ulterior motive, and now he's volunteering to help me? Where's the "Gotcha!" camera? "You know if you talk about it, rather than hold it in, you'll feel a lot better and…"

"It's you all right?" I snap and jump to my feet, unable to stand him channeling Dr. Phil. "I just can't deal with you anymore!" Shock and confusion flash across Damon's face along with another emotion I can't name. "When we first started this little…thing or whatever you wanna call it, I knew it was a bad idea; me getting involved with a vampire never ends well. Just look at my track record: Vicky, Anna…and now you. Not exactly the best choices. Just," I pause, clenching and unclenching my fists as I take several deep breaths. "Just go be with someone you really want. I'm done playing second best."

He watches me for several minutes, his expression cool. "How stupid are you to think that this doesn't mean anything to me?"

At one time Damon's looks intimidated me and while I know firsthand what he's capable of doing when pushed too far, I doubt he'll do anything on school property or in broad daylight. "Elena." Even though I know she only plays a small part in this situation, I can't help intensifying it. "It always comes back to her and how she's the one you want. All she needs to do is call and you'll answer. The only reason you tolerate me is because I'm her brother."

"This has nothing to do with Elena."

Snorting in disbelief, I step closer and stand toe-to-toe with him, daring him to react. "Then what's it about, Damon?"

"Damn it, Jeremy," he says seizing my arms. "I want you in my life!"

For a brief moment, hope surges through me and a slow smile spreads across my face, but I want real commitment and I won't find that in Damon. "You're not the settling down type."

"You really believe that?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Turning away, I struggle to break free but when his grip tightens, I wince as his fingers dig into my flesh. "Human bones here, Dracula!"

"Dracula, really?" He stares at me, his nose pinched in disgust before shaking his head. "Young and handsome yes, but Dracula? Not so much."

"Hooray for you. You're young, handsome, and every girl's wet dream fantasy; however, you're also the guy who likes to play games. Well you know what? I'm sick of being your backup. Even though I started this, I'm done," I say, trying to pull away again. "It's too much."

"You're an idiot if you can't see how much I want you."

Blinking, I pause in mid-pull. "Wait…what?"

"I'm in love with you, dumbass!"

"You love me?" I chuckle in disbelief. "Wow and this coming from a vampire who tried for how many months to seduce my sister?"

Shaking my head, I manage to pry myself loose and then, not giving him a chance to answer, I reach down, grab my backpack, and bound down the bleacher benches. Debating with Damon is like arguing with a stone wall and will get me nowhere. Besides, if I break things off now, maybe I can salvage what I have left of my sanity.

"I don't recall giving you permission to leave." In a blur, Damon appears in front of me. I skitter to a stop but my feet trip over themselves and I end up landing hard on the metal bench behind me. A sharp pain lances up through my tailbone and I wince; that's gonna leave a bruise. "You need to listen, Jeremy." Leaning down, he braces his arms on either side of my head and prevents me from escaping. My face flushes at the close proximity. "Going after your sister was a mistake."

"Given your choice of women for the last couple hundred years, I don't buy that."

His jaw muscles twitch. "Katherine was nothing more than a distraction and Elena didn't deserve me bugging her."

"That's for sure."

"Hey, I never claimed to be a nice guy; that's St. Stefan's territory."

I roll my eyes though I can't argue with his logic. "That about sums it up."

"But that's not who I am anymore."

I arch my eyebrows in disbelief; Damon being good? That's highly unlikely in this or any lifetime. "Oh is that right? Then prove it."

With uncharacteristic gentleness, he bends down and grazes his lips over mine. Surprised, I lay there too stunned to move; unlike his previous bruising and demanding kisses, this one is slow and unhurried, an almost perfect imitation of the first time he kissed me. An involuntary moan erupts from my throat as he shifts closer, his body pressing against and caressing mine. Unable to stop, I reach up, cupping his face, arching up into him, and begging for more. After a moment he pulls away and I stare up at him, blinking and swallowing at the look he's giving me, one stronger and deeper than lust.

"As much as I want to believe this…" I glance up at him and lick my lips, "you have no idea how much I want to, but…I'm just another hole to you, a passing indulgence that you'll soon tire of before chasing after someone else…like Katherine."

"Why love a woman who compels her partners instead of letting them participate willingly?"

I frown at his tone; that doesn't sound like someone who spent centuries searching for her. "If you didn't love her, then why—"

"At some point I did…love her but the more time I spent with her, I saw her for what she really was: a manipulative bitch who craves attention and doesn't care who she hurts in order to achieve it. She never cared for me and when I figured that out, she compelled me to stay with her and search for her if anything ever happened. You're the first person I've fallen for of my own free will."

I stare at him; part of me wants to believe him, accept what he's saying but I don't know if I can. While, I care about Damon more than I can say, I'm well aware of who he is and what he's done. Yet, it didn't impede me from going to him in the first place.

Whenever Elena saw us together, she would drag me aside and remind me of his manipulative and evil tendencies. At first I kept my distance and wore my vervain bracelet every chance I could, but after two weeks of sleeping with Damon, he caught me off guard by asking me about my day. Damon never struck me as the type for idle chit-chat, but he asked so I answered. Our first conversation was nothing more than a few one worded responses that gave way to a long, awkward silence with me looking elsewhere and Damon eyeing his half-full glass of Bourbon. Over the next few days those quiet moments graduated into actual conversations. Unlike the horrible monster Elena's stories fabricated in my mind, the Damon I knew was nothing more than a man coerced into a life he never wanted. He never wanted to turn and because Stefan forced him, Damon refused to forgive him; so they went their separate ways. With no guide, Damon spent several years adjusting to his new life, which is what transformed him into the conniving, arrogant bastard he is.

Hearing that allowed me to understand him more and reconcile the different personalities he showed. Though he did treat me like a toy, periodically I glimpsed something in his eyes. However, now as he stands in front of me, how can I be sure he means it?

I can't.

Falling in love is both the greatest and scariest feeling—knowing that someone means that much to you and with one word, he or she can either build you up or shatter you. When Elena fell for Stefan, I often wondered how that worked. Vampires live forever and never grow old, whereas humans, from the moment of their births, they start aging and progressing closer and closer to death. Why stay with someone unable to age?

Wouldn't the vampire tire of his current human…toy?

I glance back at Damon. When I suggested this arrangement, I took a risk. I knew what he could do and yet I not only welcomed him into my bed, over the weeks of spending time together, learning about him, and then seeking his comfort on the anniversary of my parents' deaths, I welcomed him into my life and finally into my heart.

I can deny and fight my feelings for him, but I can't ignore them. He's a part of me and now it's too late to walk away.

I'm far too in love with him.

"I love you." Unconsciously the words pop out of my mouth but I don't want to take them back.

Damon goes still and blinks at me, once, twice, three times. "Why?" he asks. "According to you, I'm a monster incapable of feeling any emotion."

Inwardly I wince; how did he know that? Then again, this is Damon, the master of discerning people's opinions.

"I don't know why I love you so much. When I first met you, we played some video games and you were pretty cool but we both know you're not the big brother type." I pause and wonder if he even remembers that conversation; the tell-tale smirk spreading across his face shows he does. "I've tried to walk away—countless times, but I can't. Something keeps bringing me back and…I don't even know what you've done to me. Maybe my being drawn to you has to do with the look in your eyes the night you killed me, maybe it's the fact that both our fathers hated vampires, or maybe it's because I've seen the best and the worst of you and I understand without a doubt what you are. I fell for you against my better judgment…I can't stay away."

Damon smiles, the sort of look that softens his face, and makes him seem almost normal. "I don't want you to."

"Then I won't. Besides after all the work I've put into taming you, it'd be a shame to see it all go to waste."

We share a chuckle as he presses his forehead against my shoulder. "Who says I'm completely tamed?"

I roll my eyes; of course he would deny it. Heaven forbid Damon Salvatore express his sentimental side for others to see. "It appears I have my work cut out for me."

"Think you can handle it?"

"I wouldn't still be here if I didn't."

Accepting my answer, he leans down and reconnects our lips, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me even closer. I lean into his touch and kiss back. After a moment his lips leave mine and, before I can complain, he presses them against my neck and sucks on the skin. I tilt my head to the side, baring my throat and groaning when his fangs sink into my skin.

To hell with Elena cautioning me to stay away from him; this is my life and I plan to spend it taming what's mine.

**Author's Notes**: This one took me a long time to be satisfied with but I think it came out pretty good. Please leave me a review and let me know.

Also Updated:

1. To Make You Feel Our Love

2. Open Your Heart to Us

3. Closet Skeletons

New:

1. Wolf Property

2. Sweet Surrender


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